LAUNCH | Decentralized Identity Framework, Cheqd ($CHEQ), and VERA to Launch Verified Digital ID, Communication Platform in South Africa

VERA, a secure B2B communications platform, has announced a partnership with Cheqd ($CHEQ), a decentralized identity and credential infrastructure provider, to develop a verifiable messaging solution for businesses in South Africa.

Every day, cybercriminals send an estimated 3.4 billion deceptive emails – masquerading as trusted sources – adding up to over one trillion phishing emails each year. These scams, which traditional encryption tools fail to address, have contributed to more than $43 billion in business email fraud since 2016, according to the FBI.

In Africa, the situation is especially concerning. Cybersecurity firm, Check Point, reported that during the first quarter of 2023, an average of one in every fifteen organizations across the continent faced a ransomware attempt each week.

This widespread fraud and impersonation has exposed deep vulnerabilities in current digital communication systems. No global messaging platform currently guarantees that the sender’s digital identity is legitimate. VERA aims to fill that gap by issuing verifiable identities to businesses, following comprehensive checks on company information and founder credentials using data from government and banking registries.

VERA partners with third-party providers to access both public and private databases, enabling multi-layered identity verification. This rigorous process ensures that only authenticated and trusted businesses can join the VERA ecosystem. Currently, 27 businesses – primarily in the legal and construction sectors – are on the waiting list to join the platform in South Africa.

Once verified, a business is issued a tamper-proof digital identity recorded on the blockchain. This identity is immutable, verifiable, and secure.

This innovation ensures that when an invoice is sent via VERA, it is directly tied to a verified business account – removing the risk of bank detail tampering, a common tactic in invoice fraud. By embedding identities on-chain, VERA creates a trustworthy and persistent record that enables safer financial and operational transactions without compromising user privacy.

VERA began its beta launch on June 1 2025, targeting South African businesses, with a full MVP launch expected by the end of August 2025.

“VERA solves a genuine problem that affects us and companies globally: invoice manipulation fraud. We receive fraudulent invoices via email almost every week. VERA ensures that every company and individual on the platform is verified. This is a critical step toward our mission to embed verified identity into everyday business interactions,” said Fraser Edwards, Co-Founder and CEO of Cheqd.

As digital fraud and impersonation escalate – especially in communication and payment workflows – trust has become a key differentiator. VERA’s platform blends strong encryption with verifiable digital credentials, helping businesses protect sensitive conversations while instantly validating their counterparties.

Through its integration with cheqd’s decentralized identity infrastructure – including support for:

• Verifiable Credentials (VCs)
• AnonCreds, and
• DID-linked resources,

VERA will enable trusted, large-scale interactions.

“At VERA, we believe secure communication must also be verifiable. Cheqd’s infrastructure allows us to protect conversations and prove participant identities in a scalable, privacy-first, and future-ready way.

Together, we’re building the foundation of a more trusted digital economy, starting in Africa and expanding globally,” said Max Coleman, Co-founder of VERA.

This partnership positions South Africa at the forefront of the shift toward verified digital communications, while also enabling future interoperability with regulatory frameworks in the EU, UK, and US. Looking ahead, it also paves the way to integrate Cheqd’s decentralized payment infrastructure and explore applications in verifiable AI.

About VERA

Founded in January 2024, VERA is a secure B2B communication platform that eliminates fraud and builds trust in digital interactions.

By combining robust encryption with verifiable credentials, VERA helps businesses instantly verify partners and securely exchange sensitive information.

Currently in beta in South Africa, VERA plans to expand into the UK, US, and Europe to support trusted global communication.

About Cheqd

Cheqd provides trust and payment infrastructure for building digital credential businesses, eIDs, personalized AI, and trust ecosystems. It supports privacy-preserving payments for data, enabling new data combinations and user experiences.

Cheqd offers customized network capabilities and supports multiple credential formats, including those under Europe’s eIDAS 2.0.

Its Trust Registries power flexible governance models for trusted data ecosystems and verified AI.

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